Scouting Club Deportivo Olimpia Important for Staff, Players Heading into Match

The New York Red Bulls will play their upcoming match against Phoenix Rising FC, knowing that Club Deportivo Olimpia can watch the game online.

So much so, that the team will likely not roll out their starting lineup and will take a special approach to set pieces.

Still, they will play a competitive match as the time ticks down to Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League play.

"Right now, we need rehearsals, so we’re going to put a good team out on the field give them a lot of minutes and get them as prepared as we possibly can for that series," Head Coach Jesse Marsch said. "We’ve honed in to more details in what it is going to take in that series, the guys are responding well and we’ll be ready."

Goalkeeper Luis Robles said that despite the compressed timeline to the match, the Red Bulls will be ready, starting with Phoenix on Saturday.

"We are looking forward to this match because it’s another opportunity for us to get minutes, for us to get some of the rust off," Robles said. "We also know that we are amped up for this game, there are certain things that we want to execute and this will be an opportunity for us to work on that. As we fine-tune those things, it will only allow us to build confidence coming into this match against Olimpia."

Marsch and Robles said the players have started looking at film of their Round of 16 opponent to prepare.

"We’ve talked tactically about different things they try to do, we’ll put faces to names here in the next weeks," Marsch said. "We’re familiar with how we do things its just about making little adjustments."

The staff has been working on scouting CD Olimpia for a while now, though.

"We have an incredible staff here," Robles said. "They continue to prepare us in a way that is direct, at times, concise, at times.The information is good, so there is no reason to think we won’t be prepared."

For Robles and his defenders, specifically, they can learn a lot through watching tape of their opponent.

"You look at their attacking pieces and you have an understanding of what their tendencies are. Not only am I the one that picks on those things, but the whole defense," Robles said. "As we look at what they like to do, it gives us more comfort coming into the match. With Olimpia, it’s totally new for us, and as we watch the video, it just allows us to prepare better and gives us the confidence knowing that we aren’t going to be surprised and that we have what it takes to get the result we want."